Man convicted of 2021 shooting in Inuvik, N.W.T., wins minor appeal victory

A man serving a nine-year prison sentence has been partially successful in appealing his convictions.

In a decision released Wednesday, the Northwest Territories Court of Appeal upheld William Aleekuk's conviction for attempted murder, but stayed his conviction for aggravated assault.

Aleekuk, now 42, was convicted of both charges after shooting a man who was sitting in his truck outside the Mad Trapper bar in Inuvik. It happened shortly after midnight on Oct. 10, 2021. Aleekuk walked up to the man's truck and fired two shotgun blasts at the man's head.

The Court of Appeal found that the two crimes were part of the same act of violence. The cited a legal principle that says offenders should not be convicted of different crimes for the same act.

During the appeal Aleekuk's lawyer had argued that because the shotgun shells used contained birdshot, the trial judge had no basis for concluding Aleekuk intended to murder the man he fired at. The appeal court judges said there was no basis for concluding the trial judge was wrong to reach that conclusion.

The man Aleekuk shot was medevaced to Yellowknife for treatment. He suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries to his face, neck and scalp.

Aleekuk is currently serving the nine-year sentence he was given for attempted murder.

That sentence remains intact. The four years he was sentenced to for aggravated assault — the conviction which was stayed — was to be served at the same time as the nine-year sentence, so the amount of time he is set to spend in prison won't change.